Rivers, Larry (Hunter, Sam; O'Hara, Frank)

Larry Rivers (Exhibition Catalog)

New York, NY, USA: October House Inc./ Brandeis University, 1965. First Edition. Hardcover. "Mr. (Sam) Hunter points out in his introductory text that (Larry) Rivers has been able to assimulate and significantly modify the "action" painting of the fifties, without compromising his own originality. His art stands halfway between the subjective gestural language of Willem de Kooning, and the objectivism and search for new meanings in the urban environment of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Reading the governing principle of action painting, its large acceptance of multiplicity, by the light of his own experience, he managed to give that ideal entirely fresh content and a new range of meanings. The innovations of Rauschenberg and Johns, and the pop artists, are incomprehensible, the author states, without Rivers." (from front flap) A catalog for an exhibition of artworks by Larry Rivers (b. Yitzroch Grossberg, 1923-2002), the canonical American artist, musician & all-around polymath who is considered to be among the founders, if not THE founder, of Pop Art. The exhibition for which this catalog was produced began at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts on April 10, 1965 & travelled to various venues including the Detroit Institute of Arts, ending at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts on February 20, 1966. With a lengthy, learned Introduction by Sam Hunter (1923-2014), the founding director of the Rose Art Museum; preceded by a Statement by the artist, & a Memoir by none other than Frank O'Hara (1926-1966), the great poet of the New York School who was Rivers' friend & painting subject. With, of course, many captioned reproductions of Rivers artworks throughout, most in black-&-white with a few prime works in color. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket (certainly first-issue with $8.50 price printed at front flap), presumed first edition/ first printing with no references to further printings at copyright page. A beautiful production, a most-desirable Rivers collectible from his now-classic early/middle period in its exceedingly rare contemporary hardcover form, in fine-to-very-fine, relatively quite excellent condition: Book with only very slight wear, fading to edges & corners of black-cloth front, back covers & spine; a hint of age-toning to edges of text block; light spotting to upper edge of same; one very small, light spot-stain at lower edge of same near spine. Interior fine-to-very-fine with only very light age-toning to page leaves, chiefly at blank margins/edges. Dust jacket (again relatively) fine-to-very-fine with a touch of age-toning, faint scratching to front, back covers, spine & flaps; very slight wear & some tiny bumps, creases esp. at corners & spine-edges incl. tiny chips with miniscule loss of paper/ surface paper. Fine-Very Fine / Fine-Very Fine. [Item #7969]

Price: $250.00